I have compiled 200 short words of encouragement that can be communicated through spoken words or in writing. Encouragement is one of the most common ways through which we express support for one another. It is the expression of affirmation through language or other symbolic representations to instil courage, perseverance, confidence, inspiration, or hope in a person(s) within the context of addressing a challenging situation or realizing a potential.
One might have positive thoughts or warm feelings toward another person, but these do not qualify as encouragement if they are not communicated to the other person. Encouragement can be expressed through spoken words, writing, helping, giving, touching and even our presence. Scientists have now documented the positive effects of touch. Simply putting a hand on a shoulder or a tight hug can communicate that you care.
Short words of Encouragement are easily remembered, quick and powerful. Short words of encouragement can facilitate the development of a persons’ inner resources and courage toward positive movement. The words are remembered longer than the long-range words.
Short Words Of Encouragement
| Short Words Of Encouragement | Author |
| Begin again as often as you need to in order to stay on track spiritually… | Elizabeth Funderbirk |
| A determined seed cannot be hidden from the world, not even by dirt. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| A diamond’s happy ending is on a crown, but its beauty was formed in dirt. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| A man does not have to be an angel to be a saint. | Albert Schweitzer |
| A pearl never loses its value, not even when covered with dirt. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| A star is a rock that could no longer hide its light from the world. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| A thousand minus one is never a thousand | Ernest Agyemang Yeboah |
| A tiny spark ignites a flame, just as a helping hand can do the same | Nonnie Jules |
| A wise man doesn’t start what he doesn’t know to do. | Eraldo Banovac |
| Adversities define what you’re made of. Success is you’re rewarded for overcoming them | Kyle Vidrine |
| All over the world there were families deciding to care about each other and encourage one another along the paths God had given them. | Regina Jennings |
| All successful people learn to navigate diverse personalities. So don’t lose hope after failure, try other ways and you’ll reach there. | Auliq Ice |
| All ways will lead and take you there as long as you know where you want to go. | Auliq Ice |
| All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| All you need is what you have. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Always see your mistakes as a learning curve. | Auliq Ice |
| As rice grows riper, the lower it bows its head. Never lose your humility while you grow. | Jimvirle/Jinvirle |
| Bad things happen in life, but we must learn to deal with them and move on | Sid Mittra |
| Be at peace with yourself and everyone. It is the greatest inner strength. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Be careful how you treat those who you perceive to be below you. The universe has a way of favouring the underdog. | Curtis Tyrone Jones |
| Be happy while you have breathed. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Be happy with those who are joyful. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Be joyful in tribulations. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Be the master of your mind, dwell on positive thoughts. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Before you find your soul mate, you must first discover your soul. | Charles F. Glassman |
| Believing in negative thoughts is the single greatest obstruction to success. | Charles F. Glassman |
| Bright light. You’ve always found your way. | Nora Roberts |
| But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me! | Dr. Seuss |
| Celebrate your life, this is your only life. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Consistency builds trust, confidence builds character. | Tyconis D. Allison Ty |
| Degree lets you to the chair of interview, but it cannot provide you job | Pawan Mehra |
| Destroy what you have become and become what you did destroy | Muhammed Bhikha |
| Do not allow the fear of hurting to stop you from loving. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Do not despise the water droplets that you receive, soon it will be a river. | Bruce Mbanzabugabo |
| Do not forget to be good to yourself. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Do not take to heart any ill-action. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Do not waste your life overworking. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Don’t be soo afraid to fall, that you don’t even chase for success. | Auliq Ice |
| Don’t cry for them to be happy. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Don’t fail to try because this is how winners roll. | Auliq Ice |
| Don’t lose your time gazing at the spilt milk. There are other cows to milk | Bangambiki Habyarimana |
| Embrace each other with joyful smiles and sacred kisses. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Encouragement is the faith of enthusiasm. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Encouraging others can be the catalyst to unleashing their greatness. | Rob Liano |
| Endure every hardship with hope. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Every day is a chance given to better your yesterday | Beverley Malcolm |
| Every face of life demands endurance. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Everyone encounters trials and tribulations, No choices, so face it! Live with it! Fight for it! | Aireen C. Pontillo |
| Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end. | Ed Sheeran |
| Everything’s a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. | Nicola Yoon |
| Exercise promotes a positive self-image and good well-being. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Expose Yourself to True Friendship for It Heals, encourages and lifts you higher. | Jaachynma N.E. Agu |
| Fear is a faint heart. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Fill your mind, with the mind of God, meditate on the Holy Scripture. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Focus on good thoughts. Focus on wonderful moments. Focus on beautiful places. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Generosity is the heart of humanity. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Gentleness towards self and others makes life a little lighter. | Deborah Day |
| Giving is a stream of abundance. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Go be absolutely, positively, fucking angelic. | Kathleen Glasgow |
| Go beyond the sky! | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| God never said that the journey will be easy, but he did say that the arrival will be worthwhile | Max Lucado |
| Grateful thanks to good friends, who lifted us, when we fall. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Growth can’t be constrained when the journey unfolds naturally and we are open to possibility and unfamiliar paths. | Bridget Geegan Blanton |
| Happiness is great contentment. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Have your one good cry, pick your chin up, smile, and move on to the positive. | Auliq Ice |
| Have your one good cry, pick your chin up, smile, and move on to the positive. | Auliq Ice |
| Holding on to negative feelings and past circumstances is like placing a lock on your soul. | Charles F. Glassman |
| Hope is a strong encouragement. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Hope is full assurance of faith. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Humility evolves with every hardship. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| I admire some people for their brilliance and I respect others for their strength. But I am indebted to those who can rekindle my spirit. | Steve Goodier |
| I am a living breathing word of GOD. | TemitOpe Ibrahim |
| I am tired of hearing negative words. I will supersaturate the world with positive words. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| I find myself in the moment of solitude. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| I love the sacred moment. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| I told you growing starts from the inside first, honey, and in that way, you’ve been growing like wildfire. | Phoebe Stone |
| I’d like to see where boys and girls end up if they get equal encouragement – I think we might have some differences in how leadership is done. | Sheryl Sandberg |
| If you can make one person listen to you, you can make the world Hear you. | Anthony Kong |
| If you cannot solve a problem, ask someone who knows. | Eraldo Banovac |
| If you follow your heart, you know true happiness. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| If you want to make people angry. Be Happy. It’s sad that people can’t stand when others are happy in life. It really says a lot about them. | De philosopher DJ Kyos |
| If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun. | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam |
| If you’re going to be fighting anyway, why not fight to win and not just to survive. | Kyle Vidrine |
| In a Universe with infinite possibilities, we don’t have to have our hearts set on just one. | Renae A. Sauter |
| In a world full of cynics, critics, and competitors, we get to choose instead to be cheerleaders for others. | Shelley Hendrix |
| It is always better to look at the bright side of life. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| It is in the quiet that you gain perspective when you have to deal with the loud. | Todd Stocker |
| It is not how much you have that matters. But how much you share is the most important. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| It’s only pain that leads us to achieve something special. | Anonymous |
| Jealousy is not there to encourage you to make someone fail, but there to encourage one to do more than the one they envy. | Unarine Ramaru |
| Keep encouraging one another with affectionate love. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Keep seeking the spirituality of thy soul. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Kindness happens – It begins with me. | Catherine Marie Bergman |
| Learn the rules of the game and become a better player. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Let every day be an inch closer to worthwhile and an inch away from meaningless. | Tyconis D. Allison Ty |
| Let the change begin with your choices this very moment. | Bryant McGill |
| Life is a mystery to be experienced, not solved. | Anonymous |
| Life is love. Love is God. God is divine. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Life may be a bed of roses, but roses still have thorns. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| Listen to me, you’ve got this. Seriously, you’ve got this. | Scott Stabile |
| Listen to your intuition. It will tell you everything you need to know. | Anthony J. D’Angelo. |
| Live a fearless life. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Love builds, encourages and strengthens. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Love is force of being. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Love is the strength of the heart. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Love the Lord God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Make your flaw your strength. | Auliq Ice |
| Make your flaw your strength. | Auliq Ice |
| Making others better is a core value of a great life. | Todd Stocker |
| May find the right road to travel on. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| May the Lord be your strong tower. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Mourn with those are sorrowful. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Move on. Walk forward into the light. | Barbara Kingsolver |
| Never allow anyone to look down upon you. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Never put off writing until you are better at it. | Gary Henderson |
| Night never had the last word. The dawn is always invincible. | Hugh B. Brown |
| No matter how you twist and turn, your ass is always in the back. | Andrew Sturm |
| No matter what, we have to keep moving forward, even if we have to crawl. | Kellie Elmore |
| Nobody can inspire you except yourself. | Sandy Raman |
| Nothing can touch the human heart like kindness. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Often times it isn’t the quality of your candidates, it’s the quality of your interview. | Mark W. Boyer |
| Only by facing your demons can you stop them from having power over you. | Auliq Ice |
| Patience is something I can’t wait to have! | Todd Stocker |
| People who don’t know the power of their mind shall only have power without power | Ernest Agyemang Yeboah |
| Quality is better than quantity. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Relax, refresh and refocus. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Seek to hear thy inner voice. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Show a little faith in someone when they need it. It’s amazing how it comes back around to you. | Garon Whited |
| Small Actions Often Lead To Big Results | Rosette Mugidde Wamambe |
| Sometimes God asks us to take a step before he confirms the course. | Todd Stocker |
| Stand firm. Stand tall. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Stand strong. Stand firm. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Stars cannot achieve their highest potential without the dark. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| Stars don’t beg the sky to shine. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| Stay inspired, happy and joyful. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get to work, your future lies ahead of you | Sid Mittra |
| Stop. Stop trying to make the illusion of strength. You don’t need it. Not here. Not now. Let yourself be sad until the real strength returns. | Elise Kova |
| Success comes through small daily wins. | Todd Stocker |
| Success is just around the corner from difficulty. | Todd Stocker |
| Sufferings lead a man to his soul. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Tears water the eyes when they have been dry for too long. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| Temptation is not to be feared but controlled. | Deborah Brodie |
| Tend to the people, and they will tend to the business. | John C. Maxwell |
| The annoyance you ignore today only gets worse tomorrow. Solve it now. | Auliq Ice |
| The glory of youth is the grace of strength. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| The greatest act of faith some days is to simply get up and face another day. | Amy Gatliff |
| The journey may be more important than the destination. | Anonymous (?) |
| The journey to loving ourselves doesn’t mean we like everything. | Sharon Salzberg |
| The Lovely Knowing, your source of intuition and inspiration may not always be explainable, but it is always attainable! | Mishi McCoy |
| The moon only dares compete with the stars when the sun is in its corner. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| The one who truly sacrifices the most is usually the one who talks about it the least | Todd Stocker |
| The power of encouragement is the grace of life. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| The seeds of greatness are sown in ordinary soil. | Leah Griffith |
| The size of your storm determines the size of your rainbow. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| The storm only comes to teach you how to skillfully sail your ship. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| The strength of my heart is the music in my spirit. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| The strong spirit empowers others to be stronger souls. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| The sun stands out not because it merely shines, but because it shines on everyone. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| The word of God gives strength to my bones, power to my spirit and hope to my soul. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| The world is what you make of it. | E.L. Mendell |
| There is nothing you cannot turn into your favour. | Andrei Ludu |
| Thinking of only the worse of yourself will eventually destroy you | Sid Mittra |
| This is my toughest time but the greatest. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Till we recognize what’s sick and messed up about ourselves this world is gonna stay sick and messed up. | Lacey Sturm |
| To be whole, we need to embrace both intuition and logic. | Leta B. |
| To quit is to fail – as long as you are still in the game you are succeeding! | Lindsey Rietzsch |
| Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be. | Stephen R. Covey |
| Truth is, moments come to an end. That’s how memories are created. | Tyconis D. Allison Ty |
| Understanding how little we know is crucial to gaining knowledge. | Eraldo Banovac |
| Visible obstacles shine a light on hidden opportunities. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| We are sisters. We are brothers. We are family. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| What are you working towards every day besides death? | Tyconis D. Allison Ty |
| When God wants to give you a miracle, He first gives you a problem. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| When left holding an empty bag, fill it with dreams of honour and glory! | T.A. Cline |
| When you are discouraged, do not look down. Hold your head up high and you will see the face of God shining a light into your dark place. | Janet Autherine |
| When you have a kid in your house, it’s time to learn rather than teach!!! | Harrish Sairaman |
| When you join teams that change lives, yours will be the first. | Todd Stocker |
| When you want your message to be heard, always speak from your heart. | Molly Friedenfeld |
| Where your heart is, there is your treasure of happiness. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Whoever knows God, depart from evil. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Wise people problems become everyone’s solution. Foolish people solutions become everyone’s problem. | De philosopher DJ Kyos |
| With God, there is no such thing as a lost cause. | Jessica Landmon |
| Without faith, we faint. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Without strength, can we work to create wealth? | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Words are prophesy. Prophesy positive words into your life. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Words give sound to the beauty of Life. | Todd Stocker |
| You are beloved; even if you were the last person on earth, the sun would rise for you. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| You are not a burden, an accident, or a mistake. You are meant for amazing things that you can’t even imagine for yourself. | Lacey Sturm |
| You are trapped by nothing more than a poor attitude | Sid Mittra |
| You are what you share. | Charles W. Leadbeater |
| You can also make your flaws work for you. | Auliq Ice |
| You can also make your flaws work for you. | Auliq Ice |
| You can get a thousand no’s from people, and only one “yes” from God. | Tyler Perry |
| You can switch off all the lights, but that won’t stop the sun from rising. | Matshona Dhliwayo |
| You cannot expect victory and plan for defeat. | Joel Osteen |
| You must hunger for spiritual food. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| You need to be buried deep in the dirt before you can find your bloom. | Roz Inga |
| You see, if we have no hope, we have nothing | Tarun Betala |
| Your heart is the correspondent of your soul. It knows the grooves of joy. | Karen Ruimy |
| Your hope will never be cut off. | Lailah Gifty Akita |
| Your knowledge is revenue to success !! | Simran Shah Khan |
| Your nature is not the problem. The problem is that you have become alienated from your nature — from your power source. | Laurie A. Helgoe |
| You’re going to act like a happy man. I know, I know. It’s the hardest role in the world. | Pat Conroy |
| You’re going to make it, you’ll be ok, miracles happen every day. | Heather Wolf |
| You’re going to make something wonderful of yourself. I promise. You’re doing just fine. | Charlotte Eriksson |